Compupay To Open Doors In Miramar

September 17, 2005|By Yolanda Sanchez Business Writer

Two months after purchasing a rival payroll-processing firm, Miami-based CompuPay Holdings Corp. is moving its headquarters to Miramar on Monday and changing its name and revamping its image in coming weeks.

The purchase of Tennessee-based PayMaxx Inc. boosted CompuPay Holdings from fifth-largest payroll service provider in the nation to fourth. Under its new name, CompuPay Inc., which is effective Oct. 3, the company is undertaking an expansion in services and offices.

The company has 500 employees operating out of 16 offices nationwide, including 175 employees in South Florida. Five of the company's offices are located in Florida, with three in South Florida -- Miramar, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

Established in Miami in 1980, CompuPay has recently undergone a number of changes. In January 2004 the company's founder, Peter Roth, sold the company to Willis Stein & Partners, a Chicago-based private equity investment firm. In a move to grow the company, three new senior managers were appointed in early 2005.

The management team's first big move was to purchase PayMaxx on July 1 for an undisclosed amount, said Kathey Palmer, vice president of marketing and business development.

Founded in 1991, PayMaxx was the first company in the country to introduce a Windows-based payroll product (PayLoad) in 1995 and one of the first to offer an Internet-based payroll product (PowerPayroll) in 1999, the company said.

The company will also launch a new Internet payroll product and will be expanding its capabilities in areas such as human resources and benefits in October, Palmer said.

CompuPay will open three new offices over the next 12 months in Nashville, Tenn., Chicago and Freeport, Maine.

"We project to open a minimum of three to four offices every fiscal year and could be adding more offices in South Florida in the future," Palmer said.

The combined company will now provide services for more than 15,000 employers across the United States. In South Florida, CompuPay provides services to 3,126 employers and about 87,000 employees. Some of the company's clients include Joe's Stone Crab, Monkey Jungle, Gardner's Markets and Shibui Japanese Restaurant in Miami.

Yolanda Sanchez can be reached at ysanchez@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4658.